


I walk a dark path (but there's light at the end)

by thisis1coolusername



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst and Feels, Ardyn said fuck the gods and actually did shit about it, Episode Ardyn Spoilers, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Minor Violence, and im fucking pissed at that episode, because we're soft bois in here, but in a good way, episode ardyn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 17:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18266483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisis1coolusername/pseuds/thisis1coolusername
Summary: Follow the road paved. Follow the will of the gods or suffer in life and eternal darkness. The gods’ will is absolute.Ardyn stood up and faced the blinding light at the mouth of the cave.“Yeah, no,” he rasped as he stretched his stiff body with a yawn.The fallen king will do as he must to bring about his end, but not in the way that the gods want him to. If they want him of all people to bow, they will have to all but kill him. He was risking a lot trying to piss on their plans, but considering how all of them took a collective dump on his, there’s no way that it can get any worst than it already is.(In which Ardyn said "fuck the gods" and proceeded to fuck them up)





	I walk a dark path (but there's light at the end)

**Author's Note:**

> FYI this fic is saved under the name, “fuck that episode”.  
> I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but god FUCKING DAMN IT, I absolutely hated the whole, “ ~~mother~~ god knows best" thing they had going and that "humans are powerless to their fate.” I know that they couldn’t really change too much without changing the hell out of canon, but you know what? Fuck y’all for making innocent people slaves to their fate! I loath the premise and my heart reaches out to the person that Ardyn used to be (because as much as I like him, he’s still an incredibly fucked up guy). Also, I feel as if the “Resist you fate” option most likely had more content behind it because it had the perfect set up for another Episode Ignis style DLC, but instead we got the mcStabby fiancé (WHO ALSO DIDN’T DESERVE THAT SHIT EITHER, WHAT THE HELL). So yeah, I think that if it wasn’t for the fact that the director dude left, we may or may not have gotten a shit ton of more content, but then again, I’m just half awake and rambling.  
> So yeah, this fic was born from rage, which is a growing trend for me for some reason???  
> But then again, isn’t that the premise of all fanfictions??  
> Anyway, excuse the mistakes and shit, its shit o’clock in the morning for me but I really wanted to finish this before it began to collect cobwebs.

Ardyn gritted his teeth and bared them in a mockery of a smile as he took his hat off and bowed to the stuck-up asshole of a god.

“Loath though I am to serve the shadows and surrender to the scion of a usurper, so long as it brings the royal bloodline to an end...”

He turned his head away from the god, “So long as I get my revenge...”

The words tasted bitter on his lips and forced them out, eyes meeting the glassy and unblinking ones of Bahamut, “I will submit.”

“As thou shouldst,” the being intoned, “The fate bestowed upon a man cannot be changed.”

Bahamut’s body began to shine in a blinding light.

“Now go, fulfill thy calling,” he commanded before disappearing in a shattering of crystal, leaving Ardyn floating in the evanescent glow of the crystal.

He thought of Aera. Of Somnus.

_“I’m sorry, Ardyn. I never would have thought that he’d try to kill you.”_

_“I hope that you understand me, brother.”_

Anger bubbled deep in his chest and he bellowed his rage to the gods above, lips upturned in betrayal, lose, and misery.

Everything turned black and he found himself waking up against cold rock.

Follow the road paved. Follow the will of the gods or suffer in life and eternal darkness. The gods’ will is absolute.

Ardyn stood up and faced the blinding light at the mouth of the cave.

“Yeah, no,” he rasped as he stretched his stiff body with a yawn.

The fallen king will do as he must to bring about his end, but not in the way that the gods want him to. If they want him of all people to bow, they will have to all but kill him. He was risking a lot trying to piss on their plans, but considering how all of them took a collective dump on his, there’s no way that it can get any worst than it already is.

“Alright then!” He clapped his hands together with a giddiness he hasn’t felt since he felt the crunch of Regis’s ribs underneath his feet and seeing the mighty ghost of his brother fall. Which wasn’t too long ago, he thinks.

“No time like the present,” he said with a smirk that only crossed his face when someone was impaled on the other side of his sword as he went to settle his hat. “Back to-"

Instead, the top of his head got an accidental, but loving caress.

“…Where ever one may find a hat.”

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

“What an adorable child!”

Normally, when someone complements your new born son, the proper response is to thank them and maybe even allow them to get a closer look at the cute little lump of a human. Let them coo at them and poke gently at their cheeks and coo some more at the baby’s reaction of being woken up. However, considering the fact that no one is allowed to be around Noctis other than his parents and selected members of the crownsguard and Ardyn of all fucking people is complementing Regis’s son throws all regular procedures out the window.

Said man was holding up his hands placatingly, looking completely at ease despite the sword pressed flush against his neck and several others floating around him menacingly.

“My goodness! I get that our last meeting almost ended up with you-"

Aulea hushed him viciously as the baby swaddled up in her arms began to fuss at all the noise. She stabbed her knife at him as he regarded the woman a tad too long for her liking. Regis stepped in his view, shielding his wife and son and Ardyn could feel the bite of the blades as they sank into his body even more.

“Dying,” he said, voice quieter than it was previously, “However, this time I come with pleasant tidings.”

He grinned, wild and slightly manic, making everyone more the warier. The fallen king made a motion to grab something from his armiger, and thus how he found himself launched out of the window, shards of very pointy glass and tips of very pointy blades doing their very best to turn him into a starscourge riddled pin cushion.

He crashed into the open courtyard below and the item that he pulled out tumbled along side him, spilling its contents. Ardyn was quickly surrounded by a plethora of guards, the overkill a good precaution considering that the man that laid waste to their forces and almost succeeded in killing their king was back and complementing babies with a weird smile.

Regis stood tall before him as he made his way towards the intruder, mentally preparing himself for the fact that he was weaker than he was the last time they faced off and that he was going to die before his son ever got to know him-

_Squeak!_

Regis looked down and saw that he stepped on a… toy? He then became aware of the various other items that were strewn about the ground. Baby toys… Diapers…. Baby clothes… One of the onesies said _I pee my pants_ with a yellow stain he hoped wasn’t actual you know-

His eyes caught the sight of another that said _Daddy’s fastest swimmer_ , and he had to fight down the hysterical laughter that threatened to spill from his lips.

Ardyn, surprisingly enough, was making no attempts to move towards him or kill any of the guards, instead laying there and pointing out the constellations and the tidbits of information about them that sounded incredibly outlandish at first but grew increasingly plausible as the man continued to talk.

Clarus threw his arm up once he saw Regis advancing towards Ardyn, but the king simply gave him a firm look and gently pushed his shield’s arm down and away. The guards split a path as he continued towards the prone man. Once before him, he pointed his blade and many others towards him, everyone around him following suite and awaiting his order to attack.

“I know that I missed the baby shower, but heavens above, I did not expect such hostile treatment-“

“Why are you here?” Regis demanded from him.

“The answer to your question is rather simple,” Ardyn said as he sat up, brushing at the dirt clinging to his lapels, “You see, Mr. Izunia and Mrs. Izunia loved each other very much and wished to express such passion-“

Ardyn was promptly stabbed.

“Oh my,” Ardyn said in response to the blade sticking from his chest.

The others pressed against his body in warning, but he simply stared coolly at Regis with his lips lightly upturned in a smirk.

“Jesting aside, I truly mean no harm to the king and his beautiful family,” He said earnestly. But Ardyn sounding earnest simply sounded heavy sarcasm, so the king before him remained unconvinced and another blade sunk into him for extra measure.

Ardyn merely coughed.

 “You are quite a terrible host,” he admonished, “If you let me explain, I will be able to tell you that the only beings who seek to inflict any pain upon you are the ones high above.”

His smirk grew at the look of realization dawning on the other man’s face.

Regis made a motion and the guards all warped out of the clearing, out of sight and earshot, but still a very much a threat. Clarus remained where he was, still looking extremely weary of having his king standing so close to the intruder.

“The Prophecy,” Regis stated.

“Indeed,” Ardyn agreed.

The king sighed, and his shoulders dropped minutely, but he weapons remained steady.

“There is no changing destiny,” he told him, eyes heavy with pain, “What is meant to happen is set into stone.”

“Oh of course!” Ardyn’s hands gestured in the air, “The gods are all knowing and never wish any ill will towards humans. But do turn a blind eye towards the Infernian, will you?”

“The gods put a stop to him! To protect us. To protect Eos!”

“Yes, save the chaos until the Chosen King, you foolish ram.”

“I-“

“Do not mistake my intentions, all mighty King Regis,” Ardyn interrupted, standing up in a smooth motion as if he didn’t have two swords sticking out of him. “I am here to extend the offer of fighting for something better than the dreary future that the gods ordained.”

“A future that you helped shape,” Regis accused.

“Why yes. But fear not for I am a busy man atoning for my actions.”

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

It was something else to step back into his old shoes as a healer but for an entirely different purpose than before.

Although he appeared confident in front of Regis and his plethora of pointy weapons, he was uncertain as to whether he could take back the starscourge in such a way as he used to.

He eyed the black flan he commanded to come before him. He rubbed his hands together as he walked towards it, and the daemon warbled as if he could sense its creator’s intentions.

“Worry not, dearest,” Ardyn said as he touched the mucky skin of the creature, “This may hurt just a tad.”

It’s answering scream didn’t match up with his promise.

Before long, the flan was gone and in its place was dazed and naked man. Ignoring the sounds of confusion coming from him, Ardyn did a quick self-reflection of himself, rolling his shoulders and tilting his head to and fro with a frown of concentration. He didn’t feel different, although it would be too early to exactly tell.

Absentmindedly, he took his coat off and draped it over the man’s head.

Seems like he has some work to do.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

Once the morning sun rose, there was a clearing of confused people moaning and groaning in various states of confusion, but Ardyn felt as he did before prior to starting.

“As the saying goes, when breaking something, it is permanent,” he stated as he stood up from his latest vict-patient.

“That’s not… How it goes,” the person rasped, words heavily accented and sluggish.

“You may be right, but I will admit that it is hard to take the advice of someone who is letting the sun lovingly gaze at a place it has no place seeing,” Ardyn told them.

The person remained still and ignored him in lieu of doing more favorable things, like groaning in pain of being a human again.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

When Regis entered his office and saw that Ardyn Izunia sitting in his desk as if he belonged there, he released a weary sigh.

Surprisingly enough, he didn’t motion for his weapons, but the fallen king knew that he was in the sights of several of the crownsguard from outside the windows.

“Greetings my king,” Ardyn said, taking his hat off and tilting his head down demurely.

For years, five years to be exact,” Regis responded, stalking towards his desk, “You have taken to leaving behind naked people all around my city.”

He loomed over him, tense with tension.

“What do you have to gain from this, Adagium?”

Ardyn replaced his hat and looked at Regis with a hint of surprise (though whether or not it was genuine remained in the air).

“Did you not hear me that night when I told you I was atoning?” he asked. “I have you know that I was a healer once upon a time.”

“I think that you meant killer, something that you very much are still,” Regis retorted.

Ardyn pressed his hands against his chest with an expression of mock hurt. “Can’t you see that I am merely trying to change the path of the harrowing destiny that we are soon to embark on?”

Regis barely repressed a flinch. Ardyn’s eyes zoomed in on the guilt swimming in his eyes like a shark smelling blood.

“Ah,” Ardyn settled deeper into the chair, “It seems that the king has finally been chosen.”

The man before him seemed to age in those few seconds. He clenched his hands and turned his head from him, jaw ticking with tension.

“You wish for your son to live, do you not?” He asked quietly, as if he didn’t already know the answer. “Then what lengths are you willing to go?”

“Mortals mustn’t change the fate that has been set for them,” Regis told him once again but with voice not as firm as it was all those years ago. “It is not our place.”

“Continuing off of your boring blather, what if someone who is not a mortal changed the paths set at stone? Chiseling away at it until the atrocious future is replaced something more pleasing. No death. No sacrifices.”

Regis didn’t startle when Ardyn appeared suddenly by his side, touching his shoulder. He merely looked at him, eyes resigned.

“What do you say, my king?” He inquired with a sharp grin, retracting his hand from his shoulder to offer it to him.

“May the gods have mercy on me,” He murmured, “For they made the devil so much stronger than a man.”

Their hands met and shook, the action heavy with the promise of the unknown.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

Noctis always enjoyed the presence of his strange Uncle Ardyn.

Despite him being his uncle, however, everyone seemed tense around him and never left him unattended with him, always making sure that there was a plethora of guards tucked away in hidden areas. He complained about it, saying that it wasn’t fair to treat family like that, but his uncle always waved off his concerns with a strange grin, saying that it was a well-earned fear.

(he actually has a lot of strange grins, but this one was the once that spread across his face whenever he was remembering something funny to him)

(noctis likes the funny memories smile better. His face does weird things whenever he remembers something bad and thinks that Noctis doesn’t see him.)

(he still loves his uncle nonetheless)

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

The first time that Ardyn saw Prompto, his face stilled in surprised.

“So, the mad man actually pulled it off?” he murmured as he stared at the silently sweating blonde.

“U-um, nice to meet cha?” he squeaked, offering his hand before hastily retracting it to wipe it on his jeans and offering it again.

Ardyn gave a creepy grin that sent shivers down his spine as he ruffled the blonde’s hair.

“Likewise. It is a pleasure to meet the infamous Prompto that my dearest nephew goes on tangents about-“

“I do not-“ Noctis interrupted with burning red ears, “I-I mean, I talk about you because you’re my friend! I talk about Ignis and Gladio all the time!”

Prompto snorted, nervousness disappearing in the face of Noctis’s embarrassment.

“Yeah, to complain that one is always trying to force veggies down your throat and that the other is a meathead that pushes you too hard,” he teased, poking a finger into the prince’s chest.

“Sh-shut up!”

An impromptu wrestling session ensued and Ardyn felt a warmth bubble up in his chest that he hadn’t felt ever since-

_he could feel how hot Aera’s blood was against his hands and his brother’s gloating voice echoed in his ears. the crystal burned his skin as it rejected him-Cries of ‘monster, monster’-_

_How warm little Noctis was as he hugged his leg with a childish voice calling out his name. How the mug of coffee felt in his hand as he talked with Regis and Clarus after a long day and night of meetings, paperwork, and more meetings. How the rays of sun felt divine despite how his skin rippled with the presence of the scrourge._

He blinked and saw that Prompto had came on top of their match, a grin spreading across his face wide and happy, perfectly mirroring the one on Noctis’s face.

_Ah to be young and in love_ , Ardyn thought as he bid them adieu.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

“Dude, I was pretty sure that your uncle was going to bite my head off or something.”

“Whaaat? Nah… I mean maybe-“

“Nooooct-“

“I’m kidding! He had the Creepy Smile number 14 on.”

“Wh-what?”

“It means that he likes you!”

“You mean that he has even more creepy faces?!”

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

A few months after Noctis turned twenty, the war between the Empire and Lucis was over, but he couldn’t exactly enjoy it with the continued absence of his uncle. It wasn’t unusual for him to disappear for weeks at a time, however this time was different. It’s been almost two years now.

Whenever he tried to ask his father, a quick look of guilt would flit across his face and the conversation would be promptly shut down with a weak excuse of telling him later. Later never came.

As the fireworks burst in the sky, brilliant colors reflecting from his graduation gift a rather giant scythe, he couldn’t help but to wonder where his uncle vanished off to.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

The road that he walks is one paved of blood and darkness. He knew that it would be like this the moment he chose to defy the gods and do things his way. He knew that whatever outcome that would come for him, it would not be of one of pleasantries and happy endings.

However.

Upon watching and even helping the young prince grow up, he found himself longing. Longing to see the prince become a king as he knew he was very much capable of becoming. Longing to spend one more night with Regis and Clarus and quietly reflecting about life and the things that they experienced growing up. Longing to taste one more of Ignis’s dishes. To watch Prompto gush over the latest model of a camera that he wanted. To spar with Gladiolus and debate over historical fiction with later.

Part of him curses himself for actually forming bonds with these people. They were merely supposed to be a means to an end of getting one last hurrah in the face of the gods before he met his inevitable end. But the selfish part him is grateful that he somehow gained those precious friendships. They reminded him of the man he used to be. The man that he was. A man that, maybe in another life, he could be.

He isn’t quite the same Ardyn Izunia that tried to kill Regis all those years ago, but he was far from the Ardyn Lucis Caelum who tried to save the world.

_Well_ , he thought as he arrived back at Angelgard, _maybe not entirely too different_.

He entered the chambers that he was unwilling dragged to almost two millennia ago and dropped back into after “submitting” to his fate.

_I was right to have sealed you away! You truly are a monster, Brother._

“Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps,” Ardyn murmured as he laid himself down, situating himself to get as comfortable as he could.

He was going to laying here for some time after all.

“But, I will admit that I would rather it be me than anyone else,” he said as he placed his hat over his face, “I will walk this road of darkness alone.”

_So none shall ever have to_ , he silently finished.

Ardyn inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He reached for that rolling mass of daemonic energy within him and immersed himself within it, taming it, and becoming one with it. He felt for the trails of it where it held the tainted souls of within its grasp and gently, gently released the grasp the scrounge held on them. Ardyn could no longer feel them, but he learned that that was a good thing – the daemon that they once were was gone and in their place, life. The starscourge rebound into him but he barely felt it, impervious to the writhing darkness that he had become.

Funny how he ended up being the sacrificial lamb anyway, but Ardyn has long come to terms that he would rather it be him than Noctis, than the family that he found once again.

And there Ardyn laid, never to move again.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

_“Ghost towns are sudden bustling with life again-”_

_“Dead civilizations live once again-”_

_“Missing persons are found-”_

_“Wildlife is returning-”_

_“Daemons are slowly becoming extinct-”_

_“What is the phenomenon that is taking over-”_

_“The starscourge is receding-”_

Clarus clicked the television off and Regis saw his sunken eyes reflected back at him. The shield walked over and sat beside him and the king automatically leaned against him.

“I know that I should be so incredibly happy that all of this is happening,” Regis said after a while, “My son. He has a chance of living a life without suffering and needless sacrifice. Humanity itself is saved from the plight that ailed them since many a millennia ago…”

When he hesitated, Clarus gripped his hand. Regis squeezed it tightly with a deep, soul weary sigh.

“But I wish that he could have found some semblance of peace before undertaking such a task,” he finished, voice a quiet whisper.

Clarus was silent for a moment, thumb rubbing across his closest friend’s hand.

“I think…,” he began quietly, pulling away slightly to look Regis in the eye with a gentle smile, “That he found it here. You can’t say that he was the same man that you met all those years ago.”

Regis chuckled as he shook his head, smiling at the memory despite how painful of an experience it was for him back then. Who knew that the man who tried to usurp his kingdom ended up being his closest ally?

Clarus drew him into a hug, pecking at his forehead before tucking his head underneath his chin. Basking in his warmth, Regis sent his well wishes to Ardyn hoping that he found the peace that he so rightfully deserved.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

 

Ardyn didn’t know how much time had passed since he began his endeavor. All the lives that he was purging of the starscourge blended in after a while and the task became almost brain numbing, despite the good it was doing. He doesn’t know how long he was laying in the wheat field, completely zoned out until something jerked him out of his trance of staring at the blue sky.

He sat up with a gasp, immediately recognizing where he was and immediately growing weary at what was going to happen. He waited for an aberration of his brother to appear, of Aera, but- nothing.

Nothing but the quiet humming a familiar voice that he hasn’t heard in so long.

Ardyn knew that he shouldn’t fall back into those old delusions, but something was different about his surroundings. For one, he wasn’t quite alone in this field. He could hear the distant voices of other people calling out to one another a ways away. Upon searching for the source, he could see that there was a small village not too far from where he was. He could even see little children laughing and chasing one another, and for some reason, his heart clenched at the sight.

He heard the voice again once again, but this time it was accompanied by several other childish ones, all flowing together in an old melody that Aera would always sing to him after a long exhausting day of healing.

Before he knew it, his feet were taking him towards the woman seated in the wheat, surrounded by children of various ages, following her in song. He paused, but it was a tad too late as the blonde headed woman turned towards the sound of him approaching, face open with happiness and curiosity at the new person coming up. Her voice quickly tapered off as her jaw dropped in shock.

Ardyn stood in his spot, petrified. He found himself fearful for the first time in seemingly forever. He waited for the dagger to appear in his hand. He waited for Somnus to come gloating and force him to hurt her-

Instead, he received an armful of his fiancé launching herself into his arms. She was dressed in simple linens and felt so warm and so alive in his hands.

“Ardyn,” she murmured, and he felt himself melting into her embrace as her voice rekindled the unmeasurable amount of love that he had for her.

“Aera,” he whispered back as he held her as tightly as he dared, pressing his face into her hair. “I-”

“INSOLENT MORTAL!”

The sky darkened suddenly, and Ardyn was unsure if his heart froze or if the arrival of several angry gods made the temperature drop.

Thunder crashed, and lightening plowed the ground, churring up dirt and the screams of the terrified citizens filled the air as they raced for cover.

Ardyn quickly pushed Aera behind him, shielding her from their rage.

“YOU DARE INTERFERE WITH THE DESTINY THAT WE ORDAINED?”

“Did I not make that obvious enough?” Ardyn replied, for even in death he was a cheeky sort of guy.

Inhuman screeching filled the air.

“YOU SHALL PAY THE PRICE OF TRIFLING WITH THE PLANS OF THE GODS! YOU SHALL PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!”

Aera whimpered behind him and Ardyn felt himself warm and then burn with the unholy rage that he has become intimately familiar with during his time on Eos. But upon feeling his love press against his back, he tempered it, not allowing it to overcome him. He’s not the Ardyn Izunia from before nor is he the Lucis Caelum from years past. He is the good and the bad. The protector and the blade in which blood drips from.

He called upon the powers that he had accumulated from the starscourge, now harmless under his control, and shadow stepped Aera towards the village.

“Hide, my love,” he implored as he sat her down in front of a house that looked surprisingly modern despite how it looked from a distance.

“Ardyn, you-,” she grabbed ahold of his sleeve, blue eyes flashing with alarm and concern, “You aren’t planning on-”

“Fighting them?” Ardyn laughed and during his time with Regis and the others, it lost its mocking and sharp edges, mellowing out with his return of humanity.

“Why dearest, you took the words right from my mouth. Even in death, you are the sharpest.”

“Ardyn, please! That’s suicide-”

Her words were swallowed up by his lips and she relaxed minutely. When he pulled away, she slapped him.

“I told you to stop doing that!” She hissed with a blush staining her cheeks.

“Did you? I believe my memory fails me in my old age,” Ardyn’s smile faded as he turned somber, reaching down to grip Aera’s hands.

“Do not fret, my love. You shan’t lose me again. I swear.”

She pursed his lips, blue eyes searching his for a moment before nodding.

“Return to me, Ardyn. Now, go!” She retracted her hands and shoved at him, and his body gave way to shadows as he raced to face the gods.

Ardyn appeared before them and allowed the power that has been collecting within him for the past two millennia flow freely, filling the air with its black oppressiveness.

(he remembers noctis saying that his magic felt like a warm blanket. dark and heavy, yes but it’s akin to a big hug. nothing will hurt you here. at least for the right people that is)

“I believe that’s quite enough, don’t you think?” he asked almost boredly, waving a careless hand at Bahamut.

In a blink, all of his swords were riddled with chunks, completely useless. The air shifted uneasily between the beings and he smiled, wide and sneering.

Ardyn is the reckoning, the retribution that the gods will come to fear.

“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” he asked with a grin that promised no salvation.

Prayers sent to the gods from that moment on will go forever unanswered, and the Oracle sang a song of a killer of tyranny and the savior of humanity.

 

 

*^**^**^**^**^**

 

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> Ciao!  
> Main blog: i-have-hella-feelings-4u  
> Writing blog: thaddy-writes


End file.
